The red light district of the English town of Ipswich was deserted overnight as British police continued their probe into the murders of three prostitutes in the area yesterday, after discovering two more bodies.
The new corpses, presumed to be those of women reported missing for several days, were confirmed by police in the eastern port town, fuelling fears that a serial killer was at large.
All women are being warned to take care once darkness falls as the pre-Christmas party season warms up.
PHOTO: AP
"The natural assumption is that these are the two missing women," said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, who is leading the investigation.
The first two murdered women -- Gemma Adams, 25, and 19-year-old Tania Nicol -- went missing in the red light district of Ipswich on Nov. 15 and Oct. 30 respectively.
Police on Tuesday confirmed the identify of a third woman, whose body was found in woods on Sunday, as 24-year-old Anneli Alderton, adding that she had been strangled.
And they admitted there was still no news of two other missing prostitutes: Paula Clennell, 24, who had not been seen since Saturday, and Annette Nicholls, 29, who had been missing since Dec. 4.
Later on Tuesday their worst fears appeared to be confirmed.
Around mid-afternoon a naked body was found in open rural land, Gull said. A helicopter was called in, and spotted a second corpse about 90m away from the first one.
"We can only fear the worst," Gull said. "The natural assumption is that these are the two missing women."
Gull has previously said that the killings could be the work of a serial killer. Asked for his view after the latest bodies were found, he said: "We need to keep an open mind."
While for the moment only the first two deaths are being linked, Gull has admitted that "the facts speak for themselves" in terms of the similarities between the killings.
"Although there are obvious and distinct similarities of the murders ... we need to carry out further work to determine whether these deaths are linked," he said.
Earlier the police chief launched a direct appeal to the killer or killers to surrender themselves.
"My appeal is simple: give yourself up," he said. "Make contact with Suffolk police. You have a significant problem. Give me a call and we can deal with this."
Meanwhile, it emerged that one of the missing prostitutes said only days ago that she was prepared to dice with danger by going back on the streets because "I need the money."
"The girls are probably wary about coming out now," Clennell told ITV television, in an interview after the first bodies were found, but added that while she was "a bit wary about getting into cars" she would probably still do it anyway.
Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to Nicaragua after years of war and was the first woman elected president in the Americas, died on Saturday at the age of 95, her family said. Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, “died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children,” said a statement issued by her four children. As president, Chamorro ended a civil war that had raged for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the “Contras” fought the leftist Sandinista government. That conflict made Nicaragua one of
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Canada next week, his first since relations plummeted after the assassination of a Canadian Sikh separatist in Vancouver, triggering diplomatic expulsions and hitting trade. Analysts hope it is a step toward repairing ties that soured in 2023, after then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau pointed the finger at New Delhi’s involvement in murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar, claims India furiously denied. An invitation extended by new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Modi to attend the G7 leaders summit in Canada offers a chance to “reset” relations, former Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. “This is a
RSS